Storm King State Park

Storm King State Park

View of Storm King Mountain from atop Break Neck Ridge

Location of Storm King State Park within New York State

Type State park
Location Cornwall-on-Hudson,
New York[1]
Coordinates 41°25′37″N 73°59′20″W / 41.427°N 73.989°W / 41.427; -73.989Coordinates: 41°25′37″N 73°59′20″W / 41.427°N 73.989°W / 41.427; -73.989
Area 1,972 acres (7.98 km2)[2]
Created 1922 (1922)[3]
Operated by
Visitors 6,944 (in 2014)[4]
Open All year
Website Storm King State Park

Storm King State Park is a 1,972-acre (7.98 km2) state park in Orange County, New York.[2] The park is in the southeast part of the Town of Cornwall, next to the Hudson River. A central feature of the park is Storm King Mountain.

History

New York physician Ernest Stillman donated the park's initial 800 acres (3.2 km2) to the Palisades Interstate Park Commission in 1922, hoping to protect land surrounding the Storm King Highway. The park has since grown to its current 1,972-acre (7.98 km2) size through additional donations and purchases of land.[3]

The park was the focus of preservation efforts in the early 1960s after a proposal by Consolidated Edison to build a hydro-electric power plant on the property. The Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference was formed by citizens opposed to the project, and the proposal was eventually dropped following a 17-year battle to preserve the park's natural state.[5][6]

A 1999 forest fire at the park caused the detonation of unexploded ordnance that had been fired over 100 years prior by a cannon manufacturer across the river. Additional unexploded shells were also discovered that likely originated from a nearby West Point artillery range. After the fire was put out, the park remained closed to hikers for three years as remaining explosives were located and removed.[5][6]

Description

Storm King State Park is undeveloped except for limited parking and trails. The park offers hiking and seasonal deer hunting.[1] Several named trails are included within the park, which features Storm King Mountain as a central feature.[5]

The park's forests are part of the Northeastern coastal forests ecoregion.[7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Storm King State Park". NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Section O: Environmental Conservation and Recreation, Table O-9". 2014 New York State Statistical Yearbook (PDF). The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government. 2014. p. 674. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Storm King and Black Rock Forest Region". New York-New Jersey Trail Conference. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  4. ↑ "State Park Annual Attendance Figures by Facility: Beginning 2003". Data.ny.gov. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 Bruno, Greg (June 17, 2007). "Views fit for a King". Times Herald-Record. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Storm King State Park". New York-New Jersey Trail Conference. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  7. ↑ Olson, D. M, E. Dinerstein; et al. (2001). "Terrestrial Ecoregions of the World: A New Map of Life on Earth". BioScience. 51 (11): 933–938. doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0933:TEOTWA]2.0.CO;2.


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